Leaving You Behind
by WickedGypsy
Summary: Ally finally wakes up after being in a coma for two years. Her love seems to have thought she would never awaken, and has moved on. Somehow, she manages to save Sirius! Lots of drama, romance, and fluff. Surprise ending!
1. First Impressions

**Disclaimer for all chapters:** I don't any of these characters except for Ally.

**A/N:** These are all memories that Ally is reliving while she is a coma, except for the last half of chapter two. That is real.

* * *

**_Tender Beginnings_**

_Walking and reading at the same time, Ally was frustrated. She had been trying to understand this stupid book, and she was already late for detention with McGonagall. So, needless to say, she was walking quite briskly. _

_"Oof!" she mumbled as she collided into someone, dropping her books. As she fought to get back on her feet, she said quickly, "Oh, I'm sorry. Wasn't paying attention where I was going..." _

_"It's all right," a dark-haired boy answered. "Wasn't watching whatever was in front of me, either..." He bent down, picked up her book, and handed it to her. "Here you are. Sorry about that." _

_Ally ran her fingers through her curly black hair. "Oh, it's not your fault..." she stammered, taking her book back. "Thanks." They nodded in acknowledgement of each other's apologies and continued swiftly on their way. _

( Later that night ; in the Gryffindor Common Room )

_Ally growled as she stumbled inside the Gryffindor Common Room. Never in her life had she felt so humiliated. _

_First, on the way to detention some stupid ghost turned on the sink in the bathroom as she passed by and somehow managed to spray her - and not just spray her, but _drench_ her. Why the door was open, she didn't know...it didn't really matter to her, either, because all the water completely destroyed her book. Secondly, this Slytherin fellow decided to point out how soaked she was. He called her a wet dog, which was "even lower than a MudBlood", and more disgusting things. She hexed him: turned his hair bright pink and made him dance like those organ grinders' monkeys. But Snape witnessed it and gave her detention for two weeks. Thirdly, since she was incredibly late to detention with McGonagall, McGonagall gave her detention every night until Thursday. After detention, a stupid ghost called Peeves kept pointing and laughing at her. He even asked her if she had wet herself in the dark! And while he was taunting her, she was nearly hit by a flying bludger that went through the window. "Sorry, 'bout that," someone had called from the outside. _

_But now she was safe...hopefully. She was almost completely dry, and decided to sit on the big, red couch in front of the fire. Relaxing, letting her muscles relieve themselves, un-tensing her body, seemed like heaven to her. After a few precious moments, the dark-haired boy plopped onto the couch beside her. _

_"Hallo," he said kindly. "Sorry for bumping into you earlier..." he said slowly. _

_Ally turned to face him, too exhausted to smile. "It's all right..." _

_"You look like hell," he said, obviously shocked. "Oh, no, I didn't mean it like that...I was just...uh - " _

_"It's okay. I've just been through the worst three hours of my life. I don't expect that I look pretty right now." She leaned her back and inhaled deeply. _

_"Oh..." the boy said, seemingly at a loss for words. "Well, name's Harry. Harry Potter." _

_Ally jerked to face him. "Harry Potter? As in _the_ Harry Potter?" _

_"Um...yes?" _

_Ally blushed and turned toward the fire. "I'm sorry. Just...er, got me by surprise, is all. After tonight I didn't expect to meet the infamous Harry Potter..." She looked at him; he seemed to be blushing, too, but Ally pretended not to notice. "Oh, um, my name's Ally. Just, Ally." _

_"Hello," Harry answered, giving her his hand. _

_**Pain and Love**_

( Four months later ; in the Tower )

_"Harry, what's wrong?" _

_"...Nothing." _

_"Well, obviously _something's_ wrong. Otherwise, you wouldn't be up here, staring up at the sky." _

_"...Can't a guy just sit and watch the stars?" Harry answered with less anger than he had intended. He wanted to get the point across; he wanted Ally to leave him alone. _

_"Depends. Is the guy gay or straight?" she said. _

_"I'm not in the mood for jokes, Ally," he replied sternly. _

_"Neither am I. I just happen to be a very funny person. Making other people laugh is a gift, an incessant personality disorder, if you will." _

_"...leave me alone." _

_She knew that. She knew he wanted her to leave him alone. But she just couldn't find it in herself to. She wanted to help him, find what was bothering him and make it go away. _

_"...please." _

_"No," she answered quietly. _

_He turned and looked at her. She saw tears welling up in his gorgeous green eyes. And that was when he said everything: everything that was bothering him, making him sad...everything that had to do when Sirius died. _

( Two months later ; beside the Lake )

_"Let's go climb the tree," Ally whined. She was sitting on a large rock (quite contently, I might add), dressed in a carnation tank and jeans. "I'm bored..." _

_"But isn't the Lake beautiful?" Harry said. "And look. The sun's just rising. It's pretty." _

_Ally looked at him quizzically. "Won't we get in trouble? We're out of school..._after hours_." _

_"Well, the sun's up now. So, technically, it isn't after hours," he answered with a wide, gleaming smile. He sat down beside her on the rock. She ran her fingers through her hair, staring at him unbelievingly. _

_"You're incredible, you know that?" she said with a laugh. _

_"Well, of course..." he laughed. He watched her shake her head before saying, "Well, what'd I tell you? It's gorgeous, isn't it?" _

_Ally looked out. The sun was rising very nicely over the Lake; all the clouds dancing on the pretty pastels. Spring breezes swirled about her, about the trees, making the new leaves rustle. The sunlight was shining through the leaves, shining through every hole in the trees, reflecting on the water. _

_By now, Harry had gotten really close to her face. With his hand, he gently pulled her face closer to his and kissed her. _


	2. Death and Living Dreams

**A/N:** The second part is while she is in a coma. She is not reliving the memory. It is real.

* * *

_**The War**_

_It was the end of their Seventh Year, and the four of them (Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Ally) were sitting happily on the train, intent on going home. Hermione and Ron sat on one of the seats, and Ally and Harry sat on the other. _

_"It all passed by so fast..." Hermione said with a sigh. "Almost a little too fast..." _

_"...yeah. It's only been two years for me," Alley replied, her thumbs twiddling. "I wish I had come a little earlier - " _

_Suddenly, the train came to a screeching halt, forcing Ron and Hermione to fly forward, and sent Ron screaming like a girl. _

_"Ron, you big oaf! Get off me!" Harry yelled. _

_"Ow! 'Mione...my boob..." Ally whispered in pain. _

_"Oh, I'm sorry, Ally!" Hermione said quickly as she stood up, trying her hardest not to laugh. "Really sorry.." _

_"What happened?" inquired Harry, after he's managed to push Ron off him. _

_"I don't wanna know," Ron squeaked as he sat down on the floor, pulling his knees to his chest. _

_"It must be something wretched to have caused the train to stop so abruptly like that," Hermione observed. _

_"Really, 'Mione? I didn't know that," Ron said sarcastically. _

_"Shut up, Ron," Harry said sternly, pulling out his wand. He watched Ron's surprised face as he did. "You should do the same, Ron." _

_Ron gulped. "If we die," he began, his voice breaking, "It'll be your fault, Harry - " _

_"Ron!" Ally exclaimed, smacking his shoulder. _

_"What? It's the honest truth - " _

_"...Just because you're bloody chicken," Hermione retorted bitterly at her friend's yellowness. _

_"I am _not_ chicken - hey...where's Harry?" The trio looked around the compartment, only to find that Harry was gone. __Just then, a large BOOM! erupted from the outside; the window shattered, sending sharp glass pieces toward them. Hermione screamed; a large piece had embedded itself into her arm, letting the blood flow out. This completely outraged Ron. _

_"Ally, stay here; help 'Mione," he shouted before jumping out the window. _

Why must I always play nurse?_ Ally thought angrily. _

_"O-Okay, don't p-panic, Ally," Hermione stammered. "J-Just wave your...your wand and s-say, _Carpillerium Repairo_." Ally did as she was told, then Hermione continued. "We should help them, Ally," she said, a look of concern on her face. _

_"Why? Ron told us to stay here," Ally retorted bitterly, upset that her friend didn't think that girls weren't able to kick some evil butt. _

_"Since _when_ have we ever listened to Ron?" _

Well,_ Ally thought. _I_was_ just complaining about always playing nurse...

_"Well, Ally? Are we gonna save your boyfriend?" _

I _do_ love Harry...

_"Any time today, Ally," Hermione said impatiently. _

_"Let's do it." _

_They both climbed carefully out of the window, and what Ally saw scared her a little. Wizards in dark cloaks were zapping everyone with a Hogwarts uniform. The Hogwarts male students were zapping back, and Ally could hear the screams of the girls inside the train. A loud roar sounded. _

_"Oh my word," Hermione gasped, her hand covering her mouth. Two extremely large trolls were heading straight for them with their clubs swinging madly in the air. "Ally..." _

_"Grab your wand and do what you do best," Ally replied. Suddenly, Hermione started shouting in Latin. Ally could've figured that she was cursing in Japanese. Hermione stopped after the trolls were now flying away from them and towards the trees. _

_She glared at Ally. "Well, thanks for helping, Ally!" she shouted sarcastically. _

_"Sorry," Ally said, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm not good with charms and all that stuff. It's a miracle I graduated..." _

_"Then what _are_ you bloody good at?" _

_"Kicking people in the shins?" _

_"Oh, you..." Hermione started angrily, but couldn't finish because a cloaked man headed for them and was about to shout a hex when Ron tackled him to the ground. The girls were too busy watching them struggle when a large boulder was hurled toward them. It nearly missed them, colliding with the train behind them. More screams came from the girls. _

_"Let's go help," Ally said with a small smile. H_

_ermione glared at Ally again. "You..." she growled. Ally looked behind Hermione's shoulders. A large - and also cloaked - man was running straight for her, his mouth open. "Crucio!" he shouted. Ally pushed Hermione (without even attempting to scream, "No!") onto the ground and out of the way. __She tried to do the same... _

_But she was hit in the chest, right where her heart was._

**_A Promise To Save Sirius_**

She was in front of a veil, inside a large, dark room. She looked around and saw Harry being restrained by a man. Harry was reaching for the veil, and a look of utmost fear was on his face.

Ally looked carefully at the veil. _What could Harry possibly want with this pitiful excuse for drapery? True, it did have an eeriness to it, but still. It was just a stupid veil._ But then she remembered. _...That story that Harry told me...about a veil...and his uncle or some relative falling through - and not coming back..._

She took one last look at Harry before closing her eyes and walking through the veil.

It was dark. She felt as though she was falling. The veil was nowhere to be seen, and she continued to fall until she collided with hard and dusty ground. An angry cloud of dust formed around her and floated there. It wouldn't be carried away by the wind because wind did not exist in this Place. Standing, she looked up at the sky; she gasped. For immense black swirling clouds took the sky's place. In the purple-ish horizon, lightning flashed periodically and without thunder.

Regaining her courage, she brushed herself off. _Now what was his name?_ she thought. _Oh, what's Harry's uncle's name? Or was it his godfather? Er...Simon, perhaps? Or Syrus? Shawn? Simone, even? Oh...damn it!_ she shouted at herself. _What was his bloody name?_

Ally starting walking around aimlessly, thinking. Well, she did do so until the sound of sobbing hit her. She looked around her; all she could see were faded people walking around even more aimlessly than she had been. They seemed to be staring at nothing, just whatever was in front of them.

But the sobbing...where was it coming from? Where was it coming from?

"...(sniff) Harry!"

Ally looked toward a large boulder about fifteen yards from her. _It was a man's voice who'd screamed,_ she concluded, hurrying towards the rock. _Maybe's it's Harry's family member, whatever the heck he played._ As she got closer, the groans and sobs got louder.

"Harry!...(sob) I'm sooorrrrryyyyy! I want to come back...help meeeeeee, Harryyyyyy..."

Ally stopped in front of a smaller rock. She carefully looked behind it and saw that there was a very small cave (in dimension) at the bottom of the boulder. Inside the cave, Ally could definitely make out the curled-up figure of a man with his knees brought to his chest. His shoulders were shaking, and he continued shrieking his apologies to Harry.

"Er...ex-excuse me, er...sir?" Ally said quietly and slowly.

The man looked at her. His eyes were frighteningly red from his sobbing, and his now-red face was drenched from the tears. His long raven hair was now matted against his cheeks, and the helpless look in his eyes shot Ally's heart.

"Sir?" she said again, stepping closer.

He lunged at her feet - or attempted to. He seemed to be too weak to stand up and walk, so he crawled slowly and pitifully toward her feet. "C-Can...can you...can you help me?" he said, his voice extremely hoarse. Ally didn't answer as he grabbed her ankles, resting his face on her shoes. "I...I...I need to get back...back to my...to my godson...my godson...my godson, Harry..." He began to sob, yet continued. "He...he needs me, you...you understand. Please...please...help me. Harry...he-he...he needs me..."

_This is just a dream, Ally,_ she thought. _Just say something to get this insane old man off you!_

"Please..." he pleaded. "He needs me...Sirius...he needs Sirius...Sirius...Sirius needs him..."

_Oh, dear heavens. He's so insane, he's even referring himself in the friggin' third person! He's a bloody NUTTER, Ally!_

"Please..."

"Okay," Ally finally said. "Look, I'll make you this promise, okay? If I'm ever playing the piano and have as much emotion to do something as you do to get out of here, then you'll be freed, okay? Promise."

"What...what?" Sirius said, a tinge of anger in his voice. "That's...that's _all_ that you...can do for me?"

"Well, I don't know what much else I can do!" she replied. "Besides, looks like I'm the only company you got here, and I think you shouldn't let my offer go to waste..."

Sirius let go of her ankles and crawled back into his cave. "No one believes me here," he said quietly. "I guess...I guess...I shouldn't...(cough) expect...you to believe...believe me..."

"Oh, this is just a dream for me, you moron," she said bitterly. "I'm supposed to say weird things!"

But, alas, it wasn't. For this meeting beyond the veil was real. For the Place that resides beyond the veil is the Place of Despair. Here, you are neither dead nor alive. And this was exactly what Ally was: in between life and death. She was in a coma.


	3. Waking Up

**A/N:** This is the official end to all the reliving-memories part!

* * *

Ally sat erect in her hospital bed. Sweat was trickling down her pale face, and she was breathing hard. The nurse (who was having a nice conversation with a painting of a rabbit and a penguin having a tea party) turned around and screamed in surprise. The nurse looked at Ally carefully.

Her black hair was messy in its ponytail; there were loose strands everywhere. She had dark-purple bags under her eyes, and she had become extremely pale. Her skinny figure had become even skinnier after those two years.

Ally opened her mouth. "Do you _mind_ getting me some help here, lady?!?" she screamed, tears beginning to drip from her eyes. The nurse ran outside, leaving the rabbit and the penguin to watch Ally.

"Well, it's about time you woke up," the pink rabbit said in her tutu. She sat down on a white chair and took a cup of tea from the table. "You've been in a coma for two years..."

"Two years?" Ally repeated in a whisper, her breathing starting to become normal. It was all such a shock...

"Yes!" replied the penguin in a red tuxedo in a low, nasal voice. "It's been real bore-festival, let me tell you - "

"I concur. Absolutely no action in this room for two years! No surgery, no shots...just some equally boring visitors who just sat by your bed - "

"Held your hand and cried like you were dead - "

"Which you weren't, of course. You were simply unconscious - "

"And boring! No wonder why Sharon and Penelope wanted to move to another room! Even that asthma patient was much more interesting than this one, I heard - "

"Daresay, really? Even for a Muggle problem?"

"Oh, quite..."

Ally finally turned away from them. She had been in a coma for _two years_? Impossible! She had just finished school at Hogwarts...

"Ah! Morning, Ally," a rather short and plump doctor said as he walked in. "About time you woke up...I heard these paintings were getting really bored..." he said with a laugh. When he saw that she wasn't even smiling, he stopped abruptly. "Er, well, er...I'm Dr. Stout. Been watching over you for the past year..."

"How's Harry?" Ally asked.

"Who? Oh, yes, yes...er, he'll be informed of your awakening...oh wait...no, dear. Sorry...we've already sent a message to _Weasely's_, I see. Is that Harry's last name?"

"No...it's Potter."

"Oh, Potter, yes. I see...Harry Potter - oh dear Lord, Harry Potter!" Dr. Stout exclaimed, dropping his clipboard and groping for his heart. "I think I shall have a heart attack," he said taking a deep breath. "Nurse! Nurse Lilac!"

"Yes, Doctor?" the pink-faced nurse answered as she rushed into the room.

"Did you know that this young lady is associated with _the_ Harry Potter? Hmm?"

"Oh, heavens to Betsy!" the nurse gasped. "Is that really?"

"Quite so," the penguin in the painting interrupted. "Been in here a few times before - "

"With rather queer people, too - " the bunny started.

"Quite so! A boy and a girl both with stop-sign red hair, and it seemed as though the boy had spattergoit - "

"And a bushy-haired young lady - "

"And the Boy Who Lived! Harry Potter himself!" the penguin replied, standing up and saluting with his fin-like wing.

_So they visited me,_ Ally thought with a merry jump in her heart. _Wonder how they're doing..._

"He was rather handsome, if I do say so myself," the bunny replied, blushing green.

_I hate this place,_ she grumbled to herself. "...er, what about me?" she said loudly. Everyone in the room looked at her, eyebrows raised. "...er, aren't I the patient who just woke up from a coma after two years?" Ally reminded.

"Oh! Yes, yes!" the nurse shrieked.

"Good show, love," Dr. Stout said picking up his clipboard. "Now, haven't I said that we sent a letter to a Weasel family?..."

(Meanwhile, at the Weasely's)

It was extremely peaceful at the moment. Molly and Arthur were settling happily in the living room: Molly resting on the large couch, and Arthur relaxed in his deep-red reclining chair with a newspaper and his reading glasses. Molly was thinking about how refreshing the peace was; Arthur was mellow, no thought of the Ministry floating about in his mind.

Then there was a thump from the door.

"That must be Errol," Molly grumbled quietly, rolling her eyes. "Arthur, we really should trade him in for a better owl - or an owl that isn't blind..." She got up reluctantly and opened the door, letting Errol dawdle inside.

"Oh, Molly, relax. The children love him." He didn't look up from the paper.

"But the children don't _live_ with us anymore, in case you haven't noticed." When Arthur didn't reply, she continued, "Arthur? Are you listening to me?"

"Hmm? What, dear?"

Molly rolled her eyes again and placed her hands on her hips. "Ron is an Auror, like Harry. Hermione is the Charms professor at Hogwarts. Ginny, Fred and George own extremely successful shops in Diagon Alley. Charlie and Bill - oh my word, I've even lost track of what they do... And Percy works at the Ministry with you..."

Arthur hesitated. "Molly," he began slowly, finally looking up from the paper and lowering his reading glasses. "Harry and Hermione are _not_ our children."

"I know," Molly replied softly. "But I love them like my own just the same."

"And not Draco? He _is_ Ginny's boyfriend, after all, dear."

"Oh, I know, Arthur. But he used to torment my Hermione, Ron, and Harry. It's hard for a mother to get over that. Besides, dear, he also taunted us for being poor."

Arthur rolled his eyes. He didn't care about Draco's past - as long as he made his only daughter happy. He watched Errol as he continued to waddle around on the floor, dumbfounded. "Do you mind picking him up? I don't want him to leave a mess," Arthur said, returning his attention back to the paper.

"Oh, what will it matter if he does?" Molly snapped, letting Errol onto her arm. "I always clean it up, anyways." She removed the letter tied to Errol's leg and read it, eyes widening with every word. "Oh dear!" she screamed.

"What is it, Molly?" Arthur asked, rather un-interested.

"Ally has awoken from her coma!" she shrieked with happiness.

"...Er, who's Ally, dear?"

"I have no idea, Arthur, but it says to notify Ron, Harry, Hermione, Ginny - oh, the whole lot of them! It says we should pick her up from the hospital around supper-time and...that we should arrange for a family dinner tonight, to help her settle in..."

"That's all dandy, Molly...but who in the world is Ally?"

Molly hesitated. "Perhaps we should ask Hermione to come over today for help. It is Hogsmeade Sunday, after all..."


	4. All This New Pain

That evening was buzzing in the Weasley home. Not with excitement, you understand, but with confusion. Oh, so much confusion.

"Where's Ally?" Hermione asked, jumping up and down while placing the plates on the table.

"Oh, I've sent Charlie and Bill to pick her up from the hostpital. She'll be here shortly - and, please, don't jump while you're holding that china!" Molly replied, eyeing her carefully.

"Oh, um, Molly?" Hermione said quietly, looking around the empty kitchen.

"Yes dear?"

"I...I haven't told Harry or Ron yet."

"Why not?"

"I...I would like it to be a surprise for them, if you dont mind."

Molly looked at her suspiciously. "All right," she finally said. "But the rest of my family knows, of course?"

"Of course," Hermione replied. There was a knock on the door. "Oh, that must be Ron and Harry," she said, scuffling for the door. "Harry! Ron! Hello!"

Molly chuckled softly as she heard Hermione's voice. She had stretched their names and the hello and sounded like she was hosting a bloody tea party.

"'Mione? What's all this about?" Ron inquired, sniffing the air and basking in the fact that he was soon going to be very well fed.

"Yeah. We had to leave in the middle of a very important meeting - " Harry was saying before Hermione interrupted him.

"I think you're going to like it."

"Like what?" Ron said, only for a moment did his nose forget the smell of freshly made food.

"You'll see," Hermione said with a sly smile. "Now, why don't we all have a seat at the table..."

_(outside of the Burrow)_

"So...how do you know Harry again?" Bill asked, giving Ally his hand as he helped her out of the magic car.

"We went to Hogwarts together," she replied quietly, pulling her hair into a ponytail and smoothing out her black dress.

"Really? Queer, he hasn't spoken of you," Charlie said. "To think he would've."

Ally looked at him. _He didn't say anything about me?_

"Oh well, perhaps - "

"Charlie," Bill interrupted, nearly glaring at his brother to stop. Then he turned to Ally. "Don't worry about him. He tends to just speak his mind..." Charlie raised an eyebrow to Bill and then to Ally before opening the door. Bill walked inside first. "All right, Charlie. Go on and make sure everyone's in their seats."

"But why?"

"Because that's what Hermione told us to do remember?" Bill said, giving Ally his hand again to help her up the small step. Bill and Ally watched him go inside the dining room, and heard a faint 'the person who shall remain anonymous until they enter the dining room is now here'.

Ally looked at Bill. "Was all this planned and organized in a very particular way?"

"Basically, yeah."

"And they don't even know who's their dinner guest?"

"Only the priveledged few. It's kind of a surprise for certain people." Bill smiled at her. She looked down at her dress. The dark purple roses were scattered here and there - oh, Ally couldn't believe that Molly sent her this dress. It felt so itchy... "You ready?" he asked.

"...Er...yes?" she answered with very little confidence. "All right. This way." Ally trailed reluctantly behind Bill as he opened the door. "Here we are! Ally!" he announced, his arms in the air. He moved to her side to show everyone.

Ally didn't look at the people sitting at the table. She found something on Bill's shoes much more interesting. _I think they're called laces,_ the confident side of Ally said sarcastically. _But what if they don't remember me?_ the scaredy-cat side replied. _You'll get over it,_ the brave side said.

"...Er, hi there, Ally," Hermione said, standing up and breaking the silence. "It's been a long time." She walked over to Ally and gave her a hug. "Here, come sit by me," Hermione said after her long-gone friend simply patted her on the back. She pulled Ally's chair out, pushing it back in after Ally had seated herself.

Ally swallowed hard. She looked around her; she didn't even know (_Or maybe I just don't remember_, she said, trying to comfort herself.) half of the people sitting at the table. A not-too-plump woman was at one of the table, and a balding man at the other. (_Husband and wife?_ Ally guessed.) At the woman's right was Ginny Weasely - of course she knew her. She was the one who had told her to just ignore Ron (because Ron didn't really like her), and he was a just a stupid git that didn't know anything that didn't involve food or rats. Next to Ginny was Draco Malfoy - she knew him, too. It was hard to forget the person who had taunted her incessantly for being friends with Harry, Hermione and Ron.

And that's when her heart skipped a beat. For beside Draco was Harry Potter. ...But, he wasn't looking at her. In fact, it seemed as though he was trying to avoid her. _Doesn't he remember me?_ she thought painfully. Next to Harry was Ron, who looked devastatingly hungry. Beside Ron were the two young men who had escorted her inside (Bill and Charlie). And then it was the balding man. On the man's right was a pair of twins. She had no idea who they were and vice versa, but they smiled at each other anyway. Beside the twins was Hermione - good, old Hermione. Always there to break the silence, and Ally was grateful that she had broken the silence when she did. Otherwise, Ally would've run out of there. After Hermione was herself, and then a young lady with brown hair (Penelope Clearwater; Percy's girlfriend). Beside her was another red-haired fellow that she also didn't recognize (Percy). And then it was back to the plump-ish and rather aging woman.

The rest of the dinner was filled with silence - except for the occasional laughs from the twins, and also when they made the whole chicken become alive again and had run straight for Percy and started pecking at him viciously. Although, he wasn't hurt _because who cooks a whole chicken with its beak still attached?_ Ally thought with a small smile. As aforementioned, the dinner was filled with silence and the clearing of throats that one usually does when feeling awkward - and believe me, this dinner was extremely awkward.

After the dinner, Harry was the first to leave the table, which caused a painful jolt in Ally's heart.

"...er, maybe you should talk to him," Hermione offered. "I'm sharing a bedroom with you, so I'll be in there preparing for my classes tomorrow."

"Thanks," Ally said, forcing a smile. As Hermione patted her on the shoulder, Ally turned to see Ron glaring at her while licking his fingers of the chicken grease. Quickly, she got up and began looking for Harry.

After about half an hour, she found him out on the balcony, sitting on the railing and watching the sky. _Just like that night, when he told me about Sirius..._ Ally recalled. She stepped cautiously onto the balcony, closing the glass door behind her. "Harry?" she said quietly.

"What?" he replied, not taking his gaze off the sky.

Walking toward him, she asked, "How've you been?"

"Fine; thanks."

"...Er, that's good." When he didn't reply, she continued nervously. "So...you're an Auror now, huh? That's wonderful."

"Yeah."

"...I heard you killed You-Know-Who."

"Yeah."

"That's good..." Regaining as much of that Gryffindor courage as she could, she sat beside on the balcony - which was quite a task, considering she was in a dress (which she ended up slightly ripping near the hem when she stretched her legs over the concrete balusters). She took a breath. "...Harry, are you mad at me?"

"...No."

"Then why are you giving me only one-word answers? And why aren't you looking at me?"

He didn't say anything.

"Harry?" she persisted.

"Just leave me alone!" he shouted, throwing his arms in the air.

Ally was taken aback. Slowly she said, "What...what's wrong?"

"I don't love you anymore!" he screamed, looking at her with the angriest eyes she'd ever seen. They were red and looked as though he had been crying... "Don't you understand that?"

"...What?" Ally asked disbelievingly.

"I don't love you anymore, Ally!" he shouted again. Ally didn't say anything, so he continued angrily. "What we had was childish and stupid! It didn't mean anything to me! So **leave me alone**! I've moved on already!"

"That's because you've had the time to!" she screamed back, her small hands in a fist. She felt the tears begin to form in her eyes, but she didn't care. She thought it was time to show this...this_ gentleman_ that she had feelings, too. Then she added sarcastically and quietly, "I didn't realize that waiting for your girlfriend to wake up from a come was such a burden - "

"Well, get used to it, Ally. And FYI, you're _not_ my girlfriend anymore," he spat in a normal tone of voice. His eyes pierced through her innocent and crying face. After a few moments, she looked away from him, and then got off the baluster (which caused another rip on her skirt). And as she walked, Harry started to feel guilty...and curiosity seized him. She had just touched the doorknob when he called after her calmly; "Ally?"

Ally stopped, biting her lower lip.

"Do...do _you_ still love me?" he asked, nearly choking from silent tears.

She turned around to reveal her red eyes, her tear-streaked face which was now turning red. Through strong sniffles, she answered coldly, "What do you think?"

Harry didn't say anything; Ally walked back into the house and headed for her room where Hermione ended up comforting her.


	5. The Accidental Rescue

**Disclaimer for chapter two:** I do not own the song. The song is _The Way You Look At Me_, sung by Filipino artist Christian Bautista.

**A/N:** This is not a songfic. But there will be another chapter where she sings a song or maybe it will be a songfic-chappie.

* * *

The tears had slowed their flow down her cheeks. She had changed into the dress Hermione had given her in their room as a welcome-home present: a gorgeous, white silk dress with an intricate, white lace design all over it. It had a low-cut V-neck; the sleeves crescendo in size when it reached the elbow. Hermione had pulled Ally's hair out of its ponytail, setting her chest-length, curly black hair free. Her curls set themselves perfectly on her shoulders, and Hermione was happy with the outcome. 'Now go and make Harry feel horrible about letting you go,' she had said with a smile and hug. 

But Ally didn't want to see Harry. She couldn't bear the pain again. Instead she decided to explore the fine burrow. Hermione agreed and let Ally borrow her white not-quite-stilettos (they were only two-and-a-half inches off the ground).

Ally crept quietly down the stairs. She didn't want to go outside on the balcony because she figured Harry was still there. She didn't want to go downstairs with the rest of the family because undoubtedly they had heard what happened and would do everything in their power to soothe her. But she didn't want to be soothed. She didn't want to be pitied. She just wanted to be alone. Continuing down the stairs, she noticed a door held ajar. Through the large crack, Ally saw what seemed to be the leg of a piano.

Curiosity clung to her. She tiptoed inside, and to her amazement, there was a large black piano in seemingly perfect condition. She stepped closer. It looked as though it hadn't been used in a while. She bit her lip. _Is it safe to try?_ Ally asked herself. She aised her hand and gave it a jerk-ish wave while saying, "_Squalidine Dissapatium_." To her astonishment, the dust had lifted and was now floating through an open window. "It worked," she whispered excitedly.

Ally was now standing in front of the now shiny grand piano. She ran her fingers along the black and white keys, absorbing the emotion that she knew it could create. She looked around. No one was looking, and she felt quite sure that no one would mind her playing it for a while. _I mean, it's just a piano. What harm could it possibly cause?_ she thought.

She sat down on the long chair and let her feet feel for the pedals; she found them. Soon, her fingers started playing a very familiar tune to her, and the words of the song came into mind...then Harry came into mind. But that just made her want to sing the song more.

_"No one ever saw me like you do.  
All the things that I could add up to.  
I never knew just what a smile was worth,  
But your eyes see everything  
Without a single word...  
'Cause there's somethin' in the way  
You look at me.  
It's as if my heart knows  
You're the missing piece.  
You make me believe that there's nothing  
In this world I can't be.  
I never know just what you see,  
But there's something in the way you look at me..."_

As she was singing, the sound rang throughout all of the Weasely home. In the kichen, Arthur, Molly, Percy, Bill, and Charlie were talking about the Ministry of Magic when her voice reached them. ("Now who could that be?" Arthur asked. "What a delight!" Molly squealed. "Cool sound," Bill said. "Yeah," Charlie agreed. "Quite beautiful," Percy observed.) In Ally's room, Hermione smiled. _She found it,_ she thought merrily. In the attic, Ron, Fred, and George were busy talking about the most recent Quidditch game. ("Whoa..." they all said together. "Someone sounds depressed," George commented. "A little too depressed," agreed Fred.) Ginny, Draco and Penelope were in the living room, discussing the whole Harry and Ally situation. ("Bet you that's Ally," Ginny said with a smile. "She sounds pretty happy considering she'd just been dumped by Potter," Draco muttered. Penelope hit his chest in aggravation.) Outside on the balcony, Harry was sitting and looking up at the sky...just as he had been when he'd told Ally about Sirius. It felt as though a blow to the heart when he heard her voice sing. _It's been so long,_ Harry thought, tears welling in his eyes.

_"If could freeze a moment in my mind,  
It'll be the second that you touch your lips to mine.  
I'd like to stop the clock,  
Make time stand still.  
'Cause, baby, this is just the way  
I always wanna feel...  
'Cause there's somethin' in the way  
You look at me.  
It's as if my heart knows  
You're the missing piece.  
You make me believe that there's nothing  
In this world I can't be.  
I never know just what you see,  
But there's something in the way you look at me..."_

Something behind her was beginning to materialize, but she didn't notice. It started taking shape...as though it were a man...a very thin man...

_"I don't know how or why  
I feel different in your eyes.  
All I know, is it happens every time...  
'Cause there's somethin' in the way  
You look at me.  
It's as if my heart knows  
You're the missing piece.  
You make me believe that there's nothing  
In this world I can't be.  
I never know just what you see,  
But there's something in the way you look at me..."_

The song began to draw to its end, and so did the man materializing behind her. He walked quietly toward her, a smile on his once handsome face.

_"The way you look at me..."_

She played the last chord, but left her fingers on the keys, absorbing the emotion again.

"You're good at that, you know," said the man.

Ally turned around and was face to face with the man she had met in her dream, in her _coma_... "Sirius?" she asked, her heart beating against her ribs.

"...In...the...flesh," he answered, relishing those words.


	6. Sirius and His Godson

"But...but how?" Ally asked in shock, her voice breathy.

"That lame promise you made, remember?" he answered obnoxiously.

Ally observed his ragged appearance, mouth agape. His raven hair was up to his shoulder blades and was extremely greasy and unkempt, and a beard up to his chest; both showing signs of aging with a few patches of gray. His bloodshot, beady eyes were obviously tired - large dark bags under them. Wrinkles on his forehead, he looked like dead. His figure was incredibly thin, amost as if he never had muscles - or eaten, for that matter. Dressed in dirty, loose, and ripped jeans and an equally destroyed T-shirt, he looked like hell.

"...Er, my _promise_?"

"Yeah," he replied calmly, observing the piano.

"...But, but it was just a dream...it had to have been - it's only logical - "

"This is the magical word, love," Sirius reminded. "Nothing is logical - "

"Try telling that to Hermione - "

"She's here?" he asked energetically. "...And what about Harry? Is he here, too?"

Ally wanted to lie and say no, but she knew it wouldn't be fair to rob this poor man of his only reason to live - despite what his 'reason to live' had put her through during the past few hours. After a few moments, she answered. "...Yeah. They're here."

"Glorius!" Sirius replied with a beaming smile - the only part of his appearance that seemed to still be alive. He left the room in a rush, but still closing the door behind him. Ally sat back down on the piano seat, her eyes wide and welling with tears.

"How is this?" she said. "Even the man I saved from death - although unintentionally - doesn't even wanna talk to me! Damn it, he didn't even give me a meager _thank-you_..." Taking a deep breath, she turned to the piano. Two tear droplets fell from her eyes and onto the keys. Placing her fingers on the keyboard - but not pressing them - it all became clear to her.

"No one cares about me," she said angrily. "Just wait and see, Ally. They'll all fawn over Sirius now that he's back. They'll absolutely _fawn_...like they didn't do when I entered that bloody dining room." Ally wiped her wet cheek in despair. "They'll probably even tell him that they missed him and were plagued with nightmares after his death." She sniffled and hit a high D.

From the outside, Sirius's hand was still on the doorknob. He hadn't walked away, but was curious to see as to what relation this depressed young lady had with his godson. _So this is why she was all teary... _Slowly and carefully, he opened the door. His coal-black eyes met her deep, brown ones.

"...Er, need to talk, love?" Sirius asked, closing the door.

Ally bit her lip and shot her eyes away from Sirius onto the floor. _He heard everything? Well, _that's_ embarrassing..._

"What'd you say your name was? Ashley or something?"

"It's Ally," she asnwered quietly.

"Oh...er, sorry, love. I'm not very good with names...charms - and the most embarrassing ones at that - yes, but names...er, not quite my forte," Sirius stammered. His hands were fishing in his back pockets, hoping to find something to give her. _It would make her feel better - alhough, what can a man who's just come from the dead have in his pocket other than lint?_

Ally didn't answer.

_This girl is really suffering. She doesn't feel loved, and that really sucks..._

"Er," Sirius began shakily. "Mind if I sit?"

Ally scooted over on the piano seat, and he sat down.

"Er...so, mind telling a complete stranger what's the matter?"

Ally looked into his beady eyes - tears filling her own - before completely breaking down again. She told him everything, and she was glad that he was there. He even hugged her in comfort.

"Do you think it's stupid?" Ally managed to choke after she was finished with the heart-breaking tale.

"No, no, no," Sirius found himself saying quickly as he pushed her away from him so that he could look at her face. The tear-streaked cheeks were engulfed in despair, and her brown eyes were pleading for mercy. Shaking in his arms, she watched his surprised expression turn into a kind smile. "It's not stupid..."

"Then why do I -"

"You're upset that no one loves you. But in truth, there are many that do."

Ally pulled away from his gentle grasp and roughly wiped her cheeks. "Name one," she spat as she stood, glaring at him.

"No need for the hatred, love," Sirius replied.

"Because no one loves me?"

"No! I mean, c'mon...doesn't...no, wait...how about...no, no..."

"See!"

"You, sit down and shut up. I was never one who does well under pressure," Sirius snapped. Ally glared at him before obeying and muttering something about stupidity and lies. "Look, doesn't Hermione love you? I mean, from what you said she was really nice and caring - "

"She was faking," Ally interjected coldly. "She was just trying to be nice - "

"Will you stop thinking the worst of people?" Sirius demanded. Ally looked at him, and he continued. "I mean, God, woman! Just because the whole bloody world isn't perfect doesn't mean that there aren't any nice people in it! ...Take me for example. I could've just left you here to cry and sob whilst I went rejoicing and reuniting with my family! But I didn't. You know why?"

"Because you felt guilty?" she asked quietly, her eyes now fixed on the keyboard.

"...Er, well, yes. But that's not the point - " Sirius stopped abruptly as the door opened and in walked Hermione.

"Oh my God...Sirius?" Hermione shrieked before fainting onto the floor.

(an hour later)

Molly was scurrying around the Burrow and screaming at everyone. She wanted everything to be orderly. All the males were laughing and hanging around with Sirius, and the women were simply wandering around the house. Only Molly was showing concern for the unconscious Hermione. While Molly was hurrying about, Ally walked into the room that Hermione was laying in.

"Sorry," she whispered, running her fingers along Hermione's hand. "If you heard anything I said. I didn't mean it. I know that you've been caring for me. Whether you were sincere or not, thanks..."

Ally looked out the window that was at the far end of the room. The window was enormous - nearly as tall as the room - and was half the width of it. Feeling a bit rebellious, Ally walked over to the window. It had dusty, black, metal panes all across it; the golden knobs were also dusty. She wanted to open it -

"Oh, um...excuse me..."

Ally turned around to see Harry staring at the floor. All the aggravation and pain he gave her was rising inside of her, burning to get out. Her wrath was fighting to be unleashed; her tears and depression were begging to be set free. _But I can't show him my emotions,_ she thought angrily. _I can't show him that I'm weak. That insignificant little git..._

"Do you mind?" he asked, opening the door. "I would like to be alone with Hermione right now."

Ally shot him a threatening glance, but was sure he couldn't read the look for what it was, and walked outside without a word.

Harry made sure the door was closed behind her, and sat beside Hermione's bed. He took her hand, and started confessing with tears. "Oh, Hermione..."

Hermione's eyes fluttered open.

"Oh, Hermione," Harry said again, not caring that his friend had regained consciousness.

She looked around her, then at Harry. As he continued to cry, Hermione noticed that he wasn't at all in the right state and didn't say anything. Instead, she held his hand and let him continue.

"I...I feel so bad...." He sniffled. "I...I lied to her..."

"To who?"

"Ally..."

Hermione wanted to smack this boy up side the head, but restrained herself. _You bloody git! What THE HELL were you THINKING? Lying to poor Ally! Do you REALIZE how bloody upset she's been? I've never seen anybody cry like that! You bloody bastard!_

"I told her that I didn't love her...but I do. I know I told you and Ron that I was over her, and that I've moved on..."

"Haven't you?" Hermione asked, her words stinging slightly.

"I did...until she came back...damn you, 'Mione!" he screamed.

"What did I do?" she asked defensively.

"Why didn't you tell me she woke up?" he screamed again, standing up and throwing her hand on the bed. "Hell, why didn't you tell me that she was coming to dinner!"

"Because I wanted to surprise you - "

"And we all see what a good idea that was!"

"Excuse me?" she shouted, jumping off the bed, ready to slap him.

"If you had just told me that she was here, I wouldn't of acted the way I did - "

"Then why did you act the way you did?"

"Because I was surprised!"

"Well, life's full of surprises. Get over it!"

"If you would have just told me, then I would've at least given her a hug, damn it!"

"How should I have known that?" she shrieked, throwing her hands in the air.

"Well, you're a bloody teacher, aren't you?" he shouted. "Why don't you tell me?"

"Because it's also the student's job to be prepared for anything!" she screamed, her shaking. Harry didn't say anything. Instead, he started to smile. "What the hell is wrong with you, Potter!" Hermione yelled, slapping him on the shoulder.

"Psyche."

"You f-cking lied to me? All that drama was nothing? A lie? Just sh-t?" she screamed again.

"Yep. Just wanted to see how you would've reacted. It was Ron's idea." He smiled evilly before walking outside.

* * *

**A/N:** I'm sorry if that seemed like a stupid chapter. But it's supposed to create a certain _illusion_ about...


	7. Suicidal

The next morning was rather quiet in comparison to the events of the prior evening. Hermione had left early to go to work at Hogwarts; Ginny, Fred, and George headed off to Diagon Ally to attend to their shops; Mr. Weasley, Percy, Charlie, and Bill had also gone to work at the Ministry. The only people left inside the Burrow were Molly, Penelope Clearwater, Sirius, Ally, Draco and Ron and Harry (who had decided to take about a week off). 

Molly and Penelope were bustling in the kitchen, cleaning and cooking and talking about the latest gossip. Sirius, Draco, Ron, and Harry were in the common room talking about everything that had happened since Sirius died. They joked about this and that, remembered this and that, even hit each other for this and that.

But Ally refused to stay inside with these...these people. _They don't love me. Heck, they don't even know me_, she thought, walking out onto a different balcony on the other side of the house, which was directly opposite from the one where she and Harry had their conversation. Ally pulled the glass door closed and sighed as she looked down at the dress she was wearing. It was another gift from Hermione - a cream-colored spaghetti-strap dress that reached her knees. She was beginning to wonder if Hermione even remembered what Ally's favorite color was (which, by the way, was definitely not cream and/or white).

"I hate it here," she mumbled, climbing on the balusters for a sit. "Nothing is how it used to be." After Ally found a comfortable seating position on the balusters, she began to gaze at the ground thirty feet below.

_Suppose I should just...fall - on accident of course,_ she thought. _I don't think anyone should miss me, and I don't think that - even though they neither love nor know me - they want to me to live my life as miserable as this -_

_You've only been awake for two days, Ally!_ she argued with herself. _Things can get better -_

_But will they?_

_Of course -_

_You lie!_

_I do not -_

_Well, what if things don't get better? What if Ron tries to kill me in my sleep? What if Sirius tells Harry that I'm a no-good, looney woman that shouldn't be given a second chance? What if Hermione abandons me and forces me to live a life that I don't want? What if -_

_You know that's not what you're really afraid of, Ally._

Ally stopped her thoughts for a moment, her grip on the balusters loosening. She knew, too, that those things weren't what really scared her.

_Well, Ally? Are they?_

_No,_ she hesitated to think. _They aren't what scare me the most..._

_Then what is it?_

_Ally? What is it?_

_Ally, things won't get better until you realize what you're afraid of and face those fears headstrong. Now tell yourself, what are you afraid of most?_

_ALLY, WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF MOST?_

_ALLY!_ her inner voice shrieked at her.

"I'm afraid that Harry really doesn't love me anymore!" she screamed out loud, her grip on the balusters tightening again. Tears were falling from her cheeks, and her loud sobs broke the silence and ended the conversation.

A knock on the glass door made Ally's heart jump. Quickly, she wiped her eyes and got off the balusters onto the balcony. Molly was standing on the threshold, hands on her hips, looking at Ally in surprise.

"Ally! Where have you been all morning? I've been looking for you like a mad woman!" Molly said loudly. "I almost thought you'd gone and locked yourself in that basement cupboard..." she said as she gave Ally a hug. "It's not good to skip breakfast! It's the most important meal of the day, you know."

Ally didn't say anything. She didn't even give Mrs. Weasley a hug back.

"Ally, it's rude to just stand there while someone is going on and on about how concerned they are for your well-being." Mrs. Weasley stopped, took a step back from Ally and held her hands. Molly noticed that Ally's eyes were red and was sniffling. Sighing quietly, she pulled Ally inside. "Now, come, come. You're probably starving. I saved you some pancakes and sausage. This way, dear," she said, dragging Ally downstairs to the kitchen.

Ally's stomach began to churn as the sound of Harry's voice drew closer with every step she took. "You know, Mrs. Weasley, I thank you for your kindness, but I'm not really all that hungry," Ally politely protested. Truth is, she was starving, but she just didn't want to see Harry.

"Nonsense! I can hear your tummy growling from here!" Molly insisted. "Besides, you're going to need your strength today. It's Spring-Cleaning day!"

"But it's November - "

"All right then. It's Winter-Cleaning, but it doesn't really matter what you call it. The point is, we're going to cleaning the whole Burrow today. Why, with all the fuss that's been going around during the past few months, I've unintentionally let the house become a mess!"

"Fuss? What fuss?" Ally asked. Molly pushed Ally down into a chair at the table.

"Penelope, dear, can you please fetch me a plate and a fork? Thank you. The fuss? Oh, yes! The fuss. Well, a few months ago - on July 21, to be exact - our Percy proposed to dear Penelope! I've been planning the wedding and looking for some fancy violin players! And - would you like some syrup to go on your pancakes, dear? Here you are - Penelope and Percy had the brightest idea! Can you guess what it is?"

Ally had already taken three small bites from the pancakes. Honestly, she couldn't havecared less about what Penelope and Percy were up to. She shook her head to be polite.

"Well, they want a Muggle wedding! In Ireland, none the less!" Molly squealed with delight.

"Why Ireland?" Ally asked after taking a sip of water.

"I grew up there," Penelope chimed in.

"Oh. Sounds fun." Ally put her fork down on the table and sighed.

"It was. Oh, I can't wait to be back there!" Penelope said excitedly. "Well, I best be off. My mother's in town for the week and she's taking me dress shopping for the bride's maids!" And with that, Penelope was off.

"Ah, she's a lovely girl, isn't she?" Molly asked Ally.

"A picture," Ally said sarcastically, but Molly didn't notice.

"Well, if you're done eating, then you can go into the shed and get the garden tools."

"Why?"

"You're weeding the garden."

"Me?"

"And Harry."

Ally's heart dropped a million miles and felt like it was falling into the bottemless pit. "But - but, why can't Harry and Sirius do it? Or...or Harry and Ron?"

"Because Sirius and Ron are going to be cleaning up the attic," Molly replied as she took the dishes and placed them in the sink.

"Well, can't you just use magic?"

"In case you haven't noticed, dear, we're trying to do things a little more Muggle-like around here."

"But why?" Ally pleaded.

Molly sighed and leaned against the counter. "Because we're trying to prepare for the wedding. Now, go on. Scoot. Harry's probably waiting for you in the tool shed. Go on."

* * *

Ally walked into the tool shed reluctantly. She carefully peeked inside, but Harry wasn't in there yet. Sighing from relief, Ally walked inside and looked around.

There were shovels of all sizes hanging on the wooden walls, some plant fertilizer in the back corner, a few plant pots made from clay, a dying elf-nut tree, some firewood piled messily beside the fertilizer, and a cabinet about five feet right beside the door.

Curious as a cat, Ally opened the cabinet to find two axes, three pocketknives, seven butter knives, sixteen pairs of scissors of varied sizes and colors, a large butcher knife, an elegant glass knife in a plastic container, and a miscellaneous sort of knives in a small box on the bottom-most shelf.

Ally gasped. All those suicidal thoughts from earlier on the balcony came back.

_No one will miss you. No one loves you. No one cares about you. No one even knows who you are. Everything that Mrs. Weasley told you was a lie. Hermione probably paid her to say those things so she wouldn't have to deal with your crying and complaining anymore. You are a worthless, repulsive, pointless, useless, insignificant spec of a human being that ever existed. But you know what? You're not even human. You're a _witch

Tears were forming in her eyes, and her breathing became loud. Her eyes were focused on the knives.

_Go on. Take a knife. Slash your wrists. Cut your neck open. Chop off a piece of your leg. Slice open your stomach. Stab your heart. Take a piece out of your breasts. Pull your eyes out of their sockets. Chop of your tongue. Slash your nose. Destroy yourself. Might as well give yourself another reason to hate yourself. Go on, Ally. Go on._

Ally reached for a knife, and as she reached -

"Ally? What in hell are you doing?"


	8. Weeding

"Ally? What in hell are you doing?" It was Harry. 

Ally looked back at him, and then turned her attention back to the cabi - where had it gone?

"Where is it?" Ally whispered.

"Where's what?" Harry asked curiously, taking a step closer.

"The cabinet. It - it was here. It was right here. It was right here beside the door," she said loudly, pointing vigorously to the spot where it had been earlier.

"What cabinet? Ally, what are you talking about?" Harry was now right behind her.

"That...that cabinet." Ally was breathing hard now, and her brown eyes were wide with fear. "That cabinet with - with those...knives. It was right here..."

"Ally, calm down," Harry said as he placed his hand on her shoulder and turned her around to face him. He grabbed her arms. "Ally, relax. What cabinet are you talking about?"

Ally looked into his green eyes. For a moment, she forgot about that stupid cabinet. For a moment, she felt as though she could live forever. For a moment, she forgot all her pain. For a moment, she forgot how much she hated him. For a moment, she forgot everything. For a moment, everything was perfect. For a moment, everything was absolutely perfect.

"Ally," Harry whispered.

His voice rang inside her head. It was almost like an angel's voice - the angel who had come to save her from her pain.

"Ally," he whispered again. "What the hell is going on?"

Ally didn't answer. Her eyes were fixed on his, and her hands were now on his shoulders, almost clinging on for dear life.

"ALLY!" Harry screamed at her, pushing her away from him. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? I'M TRYING TO ASK YOU A SIMPLE QUESTION, AND YOU'RE NOT EVEN CONNECTED WITH REALITY! LET ME TRY THIS ONE MORE TIME. WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?"

Ally was shocked at his response, but she didn't have a smart comment to slap him with.

"Okay, Ally," Harry continued in a softer yet stern tone. "When you're ready to take the bus back to reality, I'll be in the garden." He took one last look at her before muttering "tch" and walking out with a two shovels and a pair of gloves.

Ally's knees gave way, and she sat there on the ground right where the cabinet had been. _What just happened? It was almost as if...as if, Harry and me...were...still...still...in love..._ Ally's heart jumped at the thought. _Maybe...maybe he still was!_

Ally got up quickly and grabbed a pair of gloves. She headed outside. Harry was squatted in front of a small, weed-wrecked garden with red and pink flowers - the species unknown to Ally. As she walked toward him, her excited pace began to slow. Maybe he really isn't; maybe he was only trying to keep me from killing myself...that way, he wouldn't have my blood on his hands.

Her once energetic step turned into a reluctant mosey. Fear was behind her eyes; her heart was engulfed in a cold embrace; she almost couldn't breathe...

"Ally, could you hurry it up a bit?" Harry asked impatiently. He had been watching her this whole time.

Ally snapped back into reality. Her breathing was normal; her body was normal; she felt normal.

"I wasn't really planning on doing this by myself, but if you're not man enough to do it, then please go back inside. I'm tired of waiting for you," he said, turning his attention back to the weed-garden.

_So, he was tired of waiting for me? That's why he doesn't love me anymore? Because he was tired of waiting for me?_ Despite these thoughts and Harry's comment, Ally didn't go back inside. Instead, she sat on the ground next to him Indian-style and began pulling the weeds out.

Harry chuckled after a few minutes of weed-pulling, but he didn't look at her.

"What's so funny?" she asked in an irritated tone.

"Nothing - "

"Oh, come on, Potter. Something's got to be funny if you're laughing about it."

Harry turned from his work and looked at Ally. He was smiling; this was the first time he had smiled at her since she had arrived. He didn't answer, though. He merely stared at Ally with a boyish grin and with twinkling green eyes.

"Well, what is it?"

"I just think it's a bit funny that you're sitting there - on the ground - in that pretty dress, not giving a care if it gets dirty or not."

"Why is that so funny?"

"I don't know. I guess it's because most girls would freak if they got any speckle of a blemish on their pretty dresses," Harry said in between soft chuckles.

"Oh," was all Ally could say. She felt her cheeks turning pink, so she turned back to the garden and continued on with her work. _It's almost like when we first met; we felt so awkward, but we knew - we knew it wouldn't be in vain_, she thought in reminiscence.

They continued on weeding for nearly half an hour when Harry broke the silence.

"You know, this is probably the only interesting thing that's happened in a long time," he said, wiping sweat from his brow.

"Penelope and Percy getting married?" Ally replied innocently.

However innocent her reply may have been, it struck a chord in Harry's heart - and it struck hard.

"Why does everything in our conversations have to be about us, Ally?" he screamed. He stood up angrily and stomped into the house.


	9. To Love Or Not To Love

After an awkward and uncomfortable dinner that evening, Harry walked out onto the balcony where he and Ally had had their first confrontation since she woke up. It was another cold evening. _Just like when Ally and I fought_, Harry thought with an air of sadness. 

_You should talk to someone about this_, Harry's mind told him.

_Yes!_ his heart agreed.

_Preferably someone you know very, very well_, his mind continued.

_And knows you well, too_, his heart added.

_You should tell someone - to help get it out of your system_, his mind urged.

_Because it doesn't work out well when you keep things like this inside_, his heart agreed.

_It would really help, you know_, his mind said. _I bet it'd help you get over this Ally person._

_That is, if you want to get over her_, his heart said slowly and thoughtfully.

Harry sighed heavily and leaned forward onto the balusters on his elbows. "Maybe I should talk to Hermione," Harry decided, whispering thoughtfully into the night. After a moment of hesitation, Harry walked back inside the house and to Hermione and Ally's room.

"Hermione?" Harry asked as he knocked.

"Mmmm?"

"Is that you, Hermione?"

"Mmm-hmmm."

Harry almost chuckled from confusion. "Is that a 'yes' or 'no'?"

"Mmmm."

"Goodness," Harry said airily, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Whoa! Relax, Harry," Hermione said as she opened the door. She giggled softly. "What is it?" she asked, leaning against the half-open door.

"Can I talk to you? It's important. It's about, um...you know..."

Hermione's brown eyes grew bigger and sparkled with an excitement that she'd been waiting to feel since she first learned Ally was awake. Hermione smiled a radiant smile and jumped up and down for a few seconds, her brown curls bouncing upon her shoulders.

"All right, all right, Hermione," Harry said, chuckling at his friend's happiness.

"Right," she answered. She stopped jumping around and smoothed out her carnation spaghetti-strap dress and cleared her throat professionally. "Right. So, would you like to talk inside or outside?"

"Well, um...is Ally in there?" Harry pointed inside the room.

"Oh, no! She's downstairs in the kitchen with Sirius, Ginny, and Penelope. Ginny and Penny are telling Ally and Sirius about what's happened since Sirius died and Ally, well, you know - "

"Yeah, I do," Harry interrupted in an annoyed tone of voice.

"Yeah, of course you do - erm, so come in," Hermione said at long last, gesturing him inside with her arm and closing the door behind him.

Harry stood a few steps by the door and observed the small room. There were two beds, one on either side of the room, and they weren't very big. They had a mauve blanketting over the mattresses with matching mauve pillows. The bed to the right of the room was neat, all folded and nearly wrinkle-free; the bed to the left was covered with papers and books and a few T-shirts.

"That one's mine," Hermione said quietly, pointing to the messy bed. "Sorry, it's not so tidy. I was grading papers, and I wasn't expecting anyone other than Ally, and she really couldn't care less about my messes." She sat down on her bed and began rummaging through everything and organizing what was what and putting them in very neat stacks on the bedside drawer beside her bed. "Gimme a few minutes, okay?"

Harry nodded and continued to observe the room. There were two bedside drawers, both made of dark wood, each one beside a bed. Each of the drawers had a lamp atop them, but only Hermione's was on. At the end of Hermione's bed was a small desk with more papers and books and things strewn about it's surface, and another lamp sat with the mess. The middle of the room was bare and separated the bedside drawers from each other. Located on the far wall, a large window overlooked the woods behind the Burrow. Underneath the window was a small waste basket, filled to the brim with papers and empty ink bottles, with a few rolled-up pieces of parchment around it. At the end of both beds and on the walls they touched, was a closet. Hermione's was open and exhibited a grand array of clothing all about the floor, some hung on their hangers, and some only half hung. The walls were a bare white - no posters, no framed photos, nothing.

"All right, then. Everything's pretty much cleaned up," Hermione said after Harry had finished taking in his surroundings. She had begun to take each stack of papers and placing each of them onto Ally's bed.

"Do you think she'll - " Harry started.

"Allow it? Of course. She says teachers have it tough, and she would love to be able to help me in any way. This," she said, gesturing to the neat paper stacks on Ally's bed, "is any way."

Harry smiled and sat down on Hermione's bed. Hermione followed and sat beside him.

"So, Harry, what's up?"

Harry sighed. He opened his mouth to say something, but then quickly closed it again.

"Harry?"

Harry looked at his friend with a wincing look on his face. "Well, you know how...that time...when you were unconscious, and I said that...that I loved Ally and...then...then I said that...I said that...erm, I said that - "

"You were kidding?" Hermione helped. She had a smile on her face even though she hated to remember how Harry had played her like that.

"...Er, yeah. Right."

"Yes, I remember. What about it?"

"Well, I, er...I sort of...erm, I sort of...lied," Harry confessed.

Hermione's eyes grew big once more and the smile on her pretty face grew into a glowing, radiant smile that could light up even the darkest of hearts. She was ready to scream like a giddy teenage girl, but then remembered how Harry had lied to her that night. What should make this night so different? she thought and soon regained her composure and calmed down. "You...lied?" she asked.

"Yeah, I did. Actually, I really do love her. I still love her as much as before."

"Really?"

"Yeah..."

"So, why did you lie to me, Harry?"

"Because...because..." Harry paused, thinking. _I want to choose the right words_, Harry thought. _If I don't, then I'm going to sound like a complete idiot!_

"Because?" Hermione asked.

"Because I wanted to tell you the truth, but I didn't want to get hurt."

"Get hurt?" Hermione asked. "How could you possibly get hurt by telling Ally you love her?"

"I don't know. I thought she would've gotten over me by now - "

"She was unconscious, Harry. Eveything that happened to her before she fell into a coma would've seemed like yesterday to her when she woke up - "

"I know!" Harry said. "But after she fell into that...that damn coma, I didn't know what to do! I just thought 'Oh, it's all right. Everything will be fine. She'll wake up tomorrow.' But then tomorrow never came, Hermione! I was in denial! I just rid myself of her - everything that had anything to do with Ally. I rid myself of it! What good is it to love someone who became a vegetable overnight?"

"I don't think there is any good in that, but Harry - "

"Exactly! No good it in, no good in it whatsoever! So I just...tried to forget about her, and it worked. It worked until...until - "

"Until finally tomorrow came?" Hermione helped, putting a loving hand on his shoulder.

Harry looked at her through glassy eyes. "Yeah..." he said quietly and put his face in his hands. "I'm such an emotional wreck, Herm - "

"Harry, just tell her how you feel. She won't hurt you, and she won't be upset or anything. I promise."

"How do you know?"

"Because she feels the same way, too," Hermione replied softly, offering him a small but friendly smile.

"Should I go down there and tell her now?"

"No, I don't think that'd be a good idea right now. Just...just wait a while," Hermione advised.

"So...when should I tell her?"

"When the time is right, and when you two aren't at each other's throats," she answered with a soft giggle.

"But when - "

"You know what? Since you are in dire need for this time to be scheduled, try the end of the week. Friday or Saturday."

Harry nodded, and the friends embraced.

* * *

"You know what, guys? I'm pretty tired right now, so I'll just head upstairs and go to bed. It's been wonderful talking with you." Ally stood and went up the stairs.

Ron was sitting in the guest room that Sirius was staying in with the twins, talking with Fred and George about Quidditch - again. He saw Ally pass by the open door, and a sudden burst of idea filled his head. It was a thought that had been bothering him since they all saw Ally that Sunday night.

"Ally!" Ron called out, running out the room. "I'll be back you two," he called behind him. "Ally!"

Ally turned around slowly. She knew that voice; it was none other than Ronald Weasley. She didn't understand why he would want to talk to her; they had never been on good terms with each other ever since she and Harry had gotten together; he always claimed that Ally was stealing Harry away from the "Dream Team" to kill him and rule the world. But, she didn't want to be rude to her host, so she turned around and smiled a friendly smile.

"Ally! Good, good," he said breathlessly, bending over and leaning on his knees. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Not to be rude, Ron - "

"You know, when people start a sentence with that particular phrase, they are being rude by not trying to be rude," he interrupted, straightening up his posture. "Besides, I think this will really help you out with...erm, you and Harry."

Ally bit her lower lip, a pensive look on her face.

"I really, really think it would help," Ron added.

"Why do you think it would help?" Ally asked. _I'm not in the mood to be insulted by blunt comments made by some guy who doesn't even like me_, she thought with a spite of anger.

"Because I can see what it's doing to Harry and what it's doing to you. You're depressed all the bloody time because Harry's gotten over you, and it's hurting Harry because he doesn't like seeing people sad on account of him. He's my best friend, Ally. He cares so much for you - hell, you have no idea how much!"

"So why doesn't he just tell me that?" Ally spat.

Ron looked around them both, in search of a room where they could talk - yell, in Ally's case. Then he noticed that they had stopped in front of the room with the piano. He nudged his head toward the room, hinting. Ally nodded; they both went inside.

"So, why doesn't he just tell me that he 'cares so much for me' as you say? Hmm? What could be so terrible if he did?" Ally asked again.

Ron chuckled. "Ally, have you seen the way you've been such an emotional wreck lately? Hmm? If someone like Harry, whom you've 'loved,' told you all of this - you'd be in an even worse condition!"

Ally sat down on the piano bench. _There's nothing to be upset about_, she thought. _I mean, this is Ron telling me off here. It's Ron: the loser who couldn't even stand the fact that Harry and I had feelings for each other. I've already had my guard every other time he's said hurtful things to me, so why should this time be any different?_

_Because this time you want to hear what he has to say._

Ally looked at the ground. _Yeah, I guess I do...but why?_

_Because you know you're hurting Harry, and you want to stop. He says he can tell you what to do to stop it. That's why, Ally._

_How do I even know if he's telling the truth? He's lied to me before._

_He cares for Harry so much. They're best friends, Ally, best friends. Best friends would do anything to save each other. Besides, you want to get over him. Don't you?_

_Well, yes..._

_So here we are. Listen to Ron._

Ally looked up at the redheaded boy who had his hands on his hips and an exasperated look on his face. "What should I do, Ron? I don't want to hurt him - hell, I don't even want to love him anymore! It's ruining me, and it's hurting him so much, and I just want it all to stop!" She buried her face in her hands and did her best to hold back the tears.

"Just think of him as a friend form now on - you know, like an out-of-your-league crush that you can only admire at a distance. Soon you'll get over him," Ron assured with a smile on his face.

"How do you know?"

"That's how I got over Hermione," he confessed.

"Oh..."

"Yeah - "

"Do you still love her?" Ally asked, looking into Ron's eyes, pleading for anything that could help her.

Ron hesitated, opening and closing his mouth. "No," he stated simply after a few minutes.

Ally decided to look through the facade, and she believed him. "Well, if it can work for you, then it should work for me, right?"

"Right."

Ally smiled a sincere smile to Ron. "Thanks, Ron. I'm sure this is something that I can do that will actually make Harry happy. It means so much to me that you wanted to help, even though you only did it for Harry. I'm just glad to know that you can talk to me and look at me like I'm a real person. So thanks." And with that, Ally walked out of the room and headed upstairs.

As Harry was going downstairs and Ally going upstairs, it is almost conceivable that their paths should cross, no?

"Hi, Harry," Ally said politely as she passed him.

"Oh, erm...hi. Er, hello, Ally," Harry stammered stopping on the steps as she passed him.

Ally stopped at her bedroom door and turned to face him. She looked into those green eyes, and for a moment she was consumed again by the love she had for him. Her heart moved into her throat, and she forced it back down. I need to start helping him now! "Good night," she smiled at him.

Harry smiled back, feeling his heart skip a few beats and his cheeks blushing with heat. "'Night, Ally," he said softly and watched her disappear into her bedroom. "Maybe we'll live happily ever after, like in those fairy tales," he whispered, watching the door hopefully, half-expecting to see Ally walk out.


End file.
